Book cover and binder



R.1LCR0SS; 300K covr-:R'AND BINDER. APPLlcAlloN rsu-:n SEPT. 3. 1919.

,424,622 Patented Apg. l, 1922.

{J MZ?? 1i PATENT @Fi ROBERT J. CROSS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOQK COVER AND BINDER.

ine-inea.

sweetener or Let-emmene. Pasan-md Aug 1922" Application ledeptember 3,1519. Serial No. 321,445.

and useful. Book Cover and Binder, oi".

whichA thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention 1s a cover and bindery for loose leaves or sheetsof paper.

As far as applicant has knowledge, therey are twogeneral types ofnote-books orbindersotthe loose leat variety-namely, those which makeuse ot rings and those which make use of rods or posts to extend throughopenings in the leaves or` sheets to maintain them in position. The ringtype of cover or binder has the disadvantage that the openings oreyelets ot the sheets easily tear out from the rings. binding of theleaves in this type of binder as they slide loosely on rings, and theirliability of being torn from the rings is an annoying disadvantaffe. Inthe post type of binder there are generally found stud members ortelescopingy rods which extend through the opening in the edges of theleaves and which hold the sheets bound together by compression. Bindersot this type are, however, not adjustable from the thickness ot' onesheet orp papervto its capacity because the minimum thickness ot thebook corresponds tothe length of the members or posts in their i'ulltelescoping or collapsed position.. This limitation or disadvantage isreadily obvious, especially when one or two leaves or a relativelytewleaves arerequired in the cover.

lt is the object otl the present invention to produce a note-book orcover, which will open in suchA a manner tha-t, when laid-flat on atable, or used' as a held orv hand-book, the leaves thereof will; notclose, and to produce a cover in which one or a plurality ot looseleaves may be bound and which will permit the ready and easy *removallof anyv number ot leaves or intermediate leaves' without necessitatingthe removalv of the other leaves from the cover.

The invent-ion further resides in the sundry details of construction,combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the appended claims.

In thedrawings which illustratethepreterred. embodiment of the inventionas at present. devised,

There is `no reall vFig. l is a longitudinal sectional view takenthrough the binding means of the book cover;

Fig. 2 is a rear end view ofkr the book or binder. j

Fig. 3 is on line 7 7. of Fig. 2 of the binder to illustrate theconstruction ot the binding mechanism.

Figure 4; is a fragmentary plan view of the binding end of` the bookcover illustrating they particular formation of the sprinw 19.

Reierring particularly to the drawings, inwhich like characters refer tocorresponding parts throughout the several views and inthespecification, the invention comprises a `front' or upper cover l and arelatively thickerback or tablet portion 2 both, prei:- erably,rectangularin shape and ot' rigid material. To the one edge of.' thetablet portion is hinged, as at 3, a binder block i which is preferablyco-extensive with the said edge and mayV havel the same relativethickness as thevbody of the tablet 2. The cover-l is flexibly connectedat 5 to a binder strip Georresponding to the binderblock 4..

The binder strip and/binder block lie oppositel and parallel' to eachother and are equipped with means for binding loose leaves or sheets ofpaper-therebetween. The back 2 is cut away or mortised inwardly 'fromthe upper edge thereof to provide a recess 7 in its outer taceextending' transversely thereof. This recess may be oil2A suliicientdepth to accommodate binder block l when-the book is opened;

'.lo permit the opened leaves a to be tin'nedl back underneath the book,the cover l ofthe book is hingedy or flexible transversely atthepoint8,`the distance between the hinged or flexible portions o and 8being oii'sliglitly greater width than the -binder strip Glin orderVvtopermity this folding ot the book andi leaves.

'The parts l, 2, land may be all covered by a covering of? cloth,leather or other suitable material andthe hinged' members 4 and 6 are tobe concealed by the covering insuch manner as to prevent any liabilityof'scratching or other-wise marring a. desk,

table, or the like.

The means vtor binding the leaves between a cover l andf back 2 ofthe-notebook comprise studs or posts 9, one, preferably, at each endportion of' the binder block il. Thesestuds 9 are slidably mounted inthe block 4 and are, preferably, contained in tubular guides embedded inthe block. The inner ends of the studs have laterally projectingtherefrom lugs 11v extending through longitudinal slots 12 in the guide10. A leaf -spring 18 is disposed in a recess in the bloclr and has oneend thereof formed with an opening in which the guide 10 extends, theend of the spring engaging with the lugs 11 and normally tending toproject the stud 9 outwardly from the block. r1`he 'spring 13 ispreferably a flat spring bent in substantially U` shape as shown in thedrawings; however, it may be found to advantage to use adifferent formof spring or means to eject the studs 9; Posts or rods 14 depend fromthe binder strip 6 and are f a thumb nut 17.

slidablyy received in the tubular guides-or y width as to receive thethreaded rod 16 andr to provide shoulders against which the nuty 17 maybear. The'nut is formed with a reduced extension E to extend through theslot D, which acts as a guide for the nut. The pocket 18 is of such sizeas to permit access to the nut 17 for threading iton the rod 16. It is.obvious that as the nut is threaded onthe rod 16, compression isproduced between the block 4 and the strip 6 in order to tightlycompress or bind the edges of the loose leaves therebetween. A suitableltorsion spring 19 is provided on vthe strip 6 for automatically moving`the rod 16 outwardly as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 3, when the nut17 has been loosened sufliciently.y This spring consists of lengths ofwire positivelyjconnected to the ends of the pivot piece C of the rod16. These lengths of wire extend in a line with the axis of said pivotpiece and have their free ends 2O laterally extended and imbedded in thestrip 6 as clearly shown in Figure 4. When the rod 16 is moved to itsbinding position,

shown in full lines of Figure 1,. 2 and 3,

a torsional strain is produced in thewire sections, because of theirpeculiar formation and being imbedded in the strip 6,

which torsional strain will move the rod 16 to the dotted line shown inFigure 3 when the nut 7 is loosened.

The block 4 may be made of solid material mortised in a suitable mannershown or may vbe made of sheet metal.

From the above description it will be seen that any number' of vsheetsfrom one` upward to the capacity of the book may be 'firmly bonndtherein, the capacity of the bool; being limited only by the length ofthe studs 9 and 14, their lengthv corresponding to thc thickness of theblock 4. The block 4 and the back 2 of the book may be of the samethickness'in order to permit lthe book to lie flat upon a flat surface.

ln some forms of theinvention, it may be found desirable to omit thestuds 9 and post 14, as the compression produced by the nut .i

17 between the block 4 and strip 6 is found sufficient to maintain theleaves firmly.. in position within the book. ln such a'modication, theleaves may be readily inserted orv removed at any place in the book. f

Having thus described the invention, it is to be understood that certainchanges inthe construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybemade which fall within thev scope of the appended claims. j

l claim: 1. In a loose leaf binder, a pair of cooperating bindingelements, one of said elements having a pair of spaced walls formed withnotches therein, the other of said binding elements havinga threaded rodthereon adapted to engage 1n said notches, an adjustable memberreceivable between the walls of said lfirst element and threadedlyadjustable on said. rod, whereby said adjustable member will engage oneof the walls of said yfirst binding elements to clamp said bindingVelements together', said adjustable member lying within the confines ofsaid irst men! tioned binding element vwhen in ,clamping position.

2. ln a loose leaf binder, a pair of cooperating binding elements, oneof said elements having a pair of spaced walls formed withv notchestherein, the-other of said binding elements having a threaded rodthereon adapted to engage in said notches, an adj ustable memberreceivable between theV walls of said first element and threadedlyadjustable on said rod, whereby said adjustable member will engage oneof the walls of said first binding element to clampY said bindingelements together, said adjustable .member having a projecting guideadapted to cooperate with theedges of one of the notches in saidirstfmentioned binding ele-` ment, said adjustable member and'its saidprojections being adapted to lie .within the confines of the walls ofsaid first binding element when in clamping position.

3. ln a loose leaf binder, a pair of cooperl ating binding elements, oneof the elementsV being relatively thick and having its thickene-d edgerecessed to provide two opposite spaced walls, said walls being formedwith aligning notches in their edges', the other of said bindingelements having a threaded rod pivotally connected thereto andreceivable iso in said notches, an adjustable member on said rod andreceivable in said recess between the walls of said first mentionedbinding element, whereby said adjustable member will abut one of saidwalls of said other binding element and clamp said members together,said adjustable member and the free end of said rod lying wholly withinthe confines of said first mentioned binding element when in clampingposition.

a. In a loose leaf binder, two binding strips, a threaded rod pivotallyconnected to one of said strips, and engageablein a notch formed in theother strip, a nut threaded on the rod and engageable with shouldersproduced by said notch to adjustably maintain said strips in bindingrelation, and a means for automatically moving said rod out ofengagement with notch when the nut is disengaged from said other strip.

5. In a loose leaf binder, a binding meinber on which loose leaves arelaid, an aligning stud Slidably mounted in said member for engaging inthe eyelets in said loose leaves and adapted to be wholly containedwithin said member, and means projecting the stud outwardly from themember.

6. In a loose leaf binder, aV relatively thick binding strip, analigning stud embedded in said strip and slidably mounted relativelythereto, and yieldable means normally urging said stud outwardly fromsaid strip to engage in eyelets of loose leaves.

7. In a loose leaf binder, a relatively thick binding strip, a pair ofleaf aligning studs slidably mounted in said strip and adapted to bewholly contained within the latter, yieldable means normally urging saidstuds outwardly from the strip for engaging the eyelets of the leaves, asecond binding strip, and means between said strips for adjustablymaintaining them in positive binding relation.

8. In a loose leaf binder, a relatively thick binding strip, an aligningstud for engaging in eyelets in loose leaves and slidably mounted insaid strip, said stud being wholly receivable within said strip, meansnormally urging said stud outwardly from the strip, a complementalbinding strip having a short rod projecting therefrom and receivable inguide openings in said first strip, and means between said strips foradjustably maintaining them in positive binding relation.

9. In a loose leaf binder, a binding strip, means for engaging ineyelets in loose leaves slidably mounted in said strip, and whollycontainable within the latter, means projecting said loose leaf engagingmeans outwardly. from the strip, a second binding strip to cooperatewith said first strip, and

-means for causing a clamping action between said strips, whereby one ora plurality of leaves may be bound betweensaid strips.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. l

ROBERT J. CROSS.

